Friends' School

Overview

The inspection was significantly constrained by industrial action, as teachers refused to cooperate with the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI). Consequently, the ETI states it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the pupils.” While governors and senior leadership participated, the report cannot fully evaluate teaching, learning, or safeguarding arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils describe the school as a “welcoming, inclusive environment” and report enjoying learning and extensive extra-curricular opportunities.
• Parents acknowledge the school is “highly regarded in the community” and that their children are “progressing well.”
• Staff respondents affirmed that the school is “well-led and managed” and possesses an “inclusive ethos.”
• Governance is evaluated positively, with the ETI noting “confidence in the aspects of governance evaluated” due to governors’ effective use of skills.
• Academic outcomes for GCSE and A-level remain strong, with results generally in line with or above Northern Ireland averages for similar schools.

Areas to improve

• The school must take mitigating action regarding “open access to the school site and buildings,” including implementing appropriate risk assessments.
• The school needs to continue monitoring the impact of recent work on behaviour management and parent communication, and review its learning and teaching policy.
• A significant minority of pupils indicated they lack sufficient opportunities to link learning to “real life situations” for future careers.

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education” and pupils feel safe, but the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements” due to the industrial action.